First Summer At CHB
by Zizzle-Fashizzle
Summary: Talien finds out that she's a daughter of Poseidon and goes to Camp Half Blood, a camp for demigods. And this is her first summer and she finds out that life as a sea god's kid is really tough. PLEASE R&R!


Chapter One

I sat in Cabin Three, about to fall asleep on my bed. I was listening to my iPod, leaning back on my bedpost, my eyes fluttering closed.

Then, the door exploded open, and Percy was in the doorway, his sea green eyes bright.

"What?" I asked, alarmed and wide awake.  
>"You missed freakin' dinner!" he screeched.<p>

I rolled my eyes. "You seriously look like you saw a murder." I said tonelessly. "You're telling me, you ran like crazy just to tell me I missed DINNER?"  
>"Yes!" Percy panted.<br>"Wow." I replied. "You are a dork."  
>"Oh, shut up."<br>I smiled.

Percy stumbled over to my bed, and plopped down next to me. "Chiron seemed pretty mad."  
>"Oh, I don't care." I sighed.<br>"Still. You don't like Chiron when he's mad."

I snorted. "Oh, and I bet you know what that's like."  
>"Plenty of times." Percy grinned. "Trust me."<p>

In the distance, the conch-horn blew. It made the seashells on the wall vibrate.

"Is it Friday?" I asked Percy.  
>"Yeah." He replied, then started to sing, "Its Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday. Partyin', partyin', yeah!"<br>I laughed. "You're a dork." Percy gave me a dirty look, but I didn't care. It was a funny face that he makes when he gets really mad or insulted. Trust me; I've seen it a lot in 24 hours.

The strawberry scented June air sat in the sky. The whole camp (Which is pretty huge) was crowded in a gigantic dining pavilion, south of the Big House.

Everyone was decked out in armor, which is heavy leather that you have to wear for an hour. It's like holding a chunk of the sky or something-but I've never held the sky, so that's maybe an over-exaggeration. I have a tendency to hyperbole sometimes. It's a habit.

"All right!" Chiron called from the front. No one heard him; we were too busy talking. So, he had to nearly scream, "HEROES!" and pound his hoof on a marble table. Everyone's mouths shut quickly.

"Thank you." Chiron muttered, and then began, "Capture the flag will start in thirty minutes, but we need teams." He said that Poseidon, Zeus, Athena, Hermes, Hephaestus, Dionysus, Demeter, and Hecate were one team, and Hades, Ares, Apollo, Hypnos, Aphrodite, Iris, and Tyche." I was a red (Along with the Zeus, Aphrodite, Athena, Hephaestus, etc.), and the others (Aphrodite and Ares for example. Ha-ha) were blue.

I looked up at Percy. He looked determined, the glow of the torches making him look like a warrior that was ready for battle.

Two kids with curly honey blonde hair, stormy grey eyes, and deep tans ran in, holding a grey flag with an olive tree and barn owl. Followed by them were ripped, mean looking kids holding a tomato red flag that had a spear through a boar's head.

"Head to the woods, heroes! And there we will begin the game!" Chiron called, and all the campers ran out of the pavilion, whooping and hollering.

I walked next to Percy, who was dead silent, and was probably thinking up strategies to win.

"You look pretty serious." I finally said to him. He looked at me, and then smiled.  
>"Yeah, I feel like it. I just… really want to win, that's all."<br>"Me too, but you don't have to look like Achilles. Chill."

Percy looked down at me with a funny face. "I looked like Achilles?"  
>"It's what it reminded me of."<br>"Oh… That's weird."  
>"It was pretty cool, actually. It went well with the torchlights."<p>

Percy laughed, and then brought out a pen. It was small, probably something he bought for fifty cents at a general store.

"Nice pen." I told him with obvious sarcasm.  
>"Oh, I sense your sarcasm." Percy answered. "Wait till you see this."<p>

He uncapped it and it grew into a three foot long Celestial Bronze sword. It had a gold hilt and sparkled like it was new.

"Whoa," I managed, eyeballing the sword in astonishment. "That's _so_ cool! Where'd you get it?"  
>" From Dad." Percy answered happily.<br>"Oh." I hunched. I hadn't gotten any presents from Dad; who I haven't even met.

Percy must've seen my sadness and disappointment, because he said, "Hey, I bet you'll get a gift from Dad. I got it a week after I came. No biggie."  
>"I'll just wait. 'Cause, you've gotta be patient, right?" I managed a smile.<br>"Yep."

I hadn't even noticed that I was stepping over a thick root from an oak tree. I looked up and saw millions of trees, and a small creek nearby. The area looked like it hadn't been used since the 1800's.

"Wow." I muttered under my breath. "This is huge."

Percy said to me after smooching a gorgeous honey blonde haired girl on the cheek, "You're on border patrol with Leo from the Hephaestus cabin. He's right near that acorn tree…. Talk to him. Think a plan. Whatever."  
>"Okie dokie, Percy." I shrugged and walked away.<p>

Near an acorn tree (Like Percy said) was a 16 year old Latino guy that had the facial features of an elf; the pointy ears, babyish, mischievous face, and cute smile. He was tall and slim.

"Um…" I began, tapping his shoulder. He turned and his mouth dropped. He noticed and shut his mouth.

"Are you Leo?" I asked.  
>"Yeah… You Talien?"<br>"Yeah." I replied.

"Well, I guess we're partners." Leo said with a smile that made my heart try to do jumping jacks.  
>"Pretty mush- I mean much. Much." I blushed furiously. Just had to mess up. Had to.<p>

"Nice speech." Leo said teasingly.  
>"Oh, shut up. I bet you say Lee instead of Leo."<br>"Good point." Leo wagged a finger at me, a joking smile on his face. "You're pretty smart."  
>"I get my knowledge." I said.<p>

Leo laughed. "Funny, too."  
>"My mom's gene." I pointed out, then automatically got an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I never talked about my mom.<p>

The same girl that Percy kissed on the cheek walked over to us.

"Come up with a plan yet?" she asked me and Leo. Leo looked at me, nervous.

"Um… we were thinking that we would use our powers to guard it. Since I'm a daughter of Poseidon, I'll make a water wall to keep the other team from coming." I lied.  
>The girl smiled in approvement. "Nice." And soon, she was gone.<p>

Leo looked at me. "Wow, you're fast."  
>"My aunt's a good liar. Quick thinker, too." I explained.<br>"You've got an interesting family."  
>"Even more with a dad that's a Greek god." I added, then laughed.<p>

Then, Chiron blew a whistle, making me fly two feet in the air. A millisecond after that, a shield flew into my chest and I almost barfed.

"Oh, gods." I managed, then noticed my voice was a few more octaves higher than usual.

"COME ON!" Leo screamed and pointed to the creek. Ares kids were almost on our side.

I bolted, using my shield to dodge limbs of trees that were swinging around.

At the creek, the Ares kids stepped over to our side. My mind was racing. Without thinking, I threw the shield that was the size of an NBA backboard like a Frisbee. It hit all the kids and they crumpled down to their knees like dominos.

"Nice." Leo said to me.  
>"It was the first thing that came to mind." I answered as a 'Thank you'.<p>

We were soon over the creek, where the kids were moaning, sprawled out in the water.

I reached down to unarm a beefy girl, when she sliced at my cheek. I jumped backwards as her spear whizzed past my nose.

"That was close." I muttered to myself.

The girl shakily stood up, her spear crackling with energy, her eyes vicious under her blue plumed helmet.

"It is on." She growled.  
>"Are you talking about the lights in your friends' eyes, or the sun's shine?" I asked. The girl screamed a loud scream and charged at me.<p>

I would love to tell you I went all Ralph Macchio on her, but the truth is; I ran. On the way, I scooped up my bloody ("Awesome!") shield.

"What are you doing?" Leo called.  
>"Runni- OH CRAP!" I had dropped my shield in the water. I bent down to pick it up-which wasn't probably the smartest thing to do- when I got a slurp of creek water.<p>

The girl held her spear tip up to the back of my neck, and I suddenly felt a shock run through my body. I blinked. Shockingly, I was fine. Just tasted burnt spaghetti (The spaghetti was from dinner, by the way).

I stood up and the girl's pig eyes widened behind her helm. "YOU SHOULD BE UNCONSCIOUS!" she screamed.  
>"Hey, no way to speak to the guy who drenched you seven years go's sister!" I said, then 'tsk'ed at her.<p>

The girl was about to chuck her spear directly at my forehead, when her eyes rolled to the back to her head and she did a face plant into the water. Leo was looming behind her, a vicious gleam in his deep brown eyes.

"Thanks." I said happily.  
>"Welcome. Nice throw, by the way."<br>"Aw, shucks, that was nothin'." I winked.

"TALIEN! LEO!" Percy suddenly screamed from the other side. He was getting attacked by a bunch of blue plumed campers.

Leo and I ran over to the other side, and charged. Before I could remember that I was unarmed, I bonked a kid in the head with my ulna. They fell, unconscious.

I felt heat on my left cheek. It came from Leo. He had fifty foot tall, white and red flames licking off him.

"You're on fire!" I screamed in horror.  
>"I know." Leo said.<br>"You aren't screaming."  
>"I summoned it."<p>

All of the other team staggered away, eyes wide. Percy ran back onto our boundary. The flag turned into a sea green flag with a horse and trident.

I was so happy- Leo, too- we hugged each other. Just to let you know, he was not on fire. So, I was not turned into a Talien-shish-ki-bob. We finally noticed that our arms were thrown around each other and released, our faces totally red.

"Sorry." I coughed out.  
>"Me too." Leo said.<p>

We walked back to our side, where Percy was on the red teams' shoulders, beaming and holding the flag high.

He saw me, climbed down from the shoulders, and announced loudly, "Talien- little sis- I would like for you to have this. I couldn't have been here without you and Leo. GO TALIEN!" He handed me the flag, which was surprisingly as light as a feather.

For a moment I couldn't speak. That was a total surprise. I just did what I did. Defend.

"Um…" I began, then the red team cheered, "TALIEN!" and in a blink of an eye, I was on top of everyone's shoulders with Leo by my side, smiling.

We gave each other high fives.

The Apollo kids were handed a Greek vase full of slips of paper at the beginning of the campfire.

"What are they _doing_?" I asked Percy incredulously.  
>"Some random camper gets to sing a song with the Apollo kids." He answered quietly.<br>"Oh." I replied calmly, but was thinking wildly, _PLEASE NOT ME! PLEASE NOT ME! LET MY LUCK LAST! _

A kid picked out a slip of paper, flipped it open, and read aloud, "Talien- Poseidon Cabin."

Percy turned to me, a sly smile on his face. I just glared at the kid in horror. WHAT? I WAS NOT SINGING IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!

"Go." Percy nudged me.  
>"Oh, gods, I will kill you." I growled under my breath and walked up to the front, my hands trembling.<p>

"Just go with the flow." A kid whispered to me. I glared.

_Okay, Talien. Sing 'Valerie' from 'Glee'. Just randomly. _I said to myself as I turned to face the campers up front.

Making me blink, drums started to play. I recognized it instantly. It was 'Valerie'.

"Well, sometimes I go out by myself, and I look across the water." I sang. Everyone started nodding their head along, or swaying instantly. Apollo kids sang from behind, "Ooo. Ooo. Ooo."

"And I think of all the things, what you're doin' and in my head I paint a picture. 'Cause since I've come on home, well, my body's been a mess. And I've missed your ginger hair, and the way you like to dress. Won't you come on over, stop makin' a fool outta me?" I started walking down the aisles happily.

"Why don't you come on over, Valerie? Valerie! (Why don't you come on over?) Valerie, Valerie. Valerie. (Why don't you come on over?) Did you have to go to jail, put your house on up for sale? Did you get a good lawyer? I hope you didn't catch a tan, I hope you find the right man who'll fix it for ya. Now are you shoppin' anywhere, changed the color of your hair? And are you busy? And did you have to pay that fine that you were dodging all the time? Are you still busy?"

I was dancing around now, smiling and looking at campers. "'Cause since I've come on home, well, my body's been a mess. And I've missed your ginger hair, and the way you like to dress. Won't you come on over, stop makin' a fool outta me? Why don't you come on over, Valerie? Valerie! (Why don't you come on over?) Valerie. (Why don't you come on over?)"

I felt so happy, I couldn't explain it. "Well, sometimes I go out by myself, and I look across the water. And I think of all the things, what you're doin' and in my head I paint a picture. 'Cause since I've come on home, well, my body's been a mess. And I've missed your ginger hair, and the way you like to dress. Won't you come on over, stop makin' a fool outta me? Oh, why don't you come on over, Valerie? Valerie. (Why don't you come on over?) Valerie. Valerie. (Why don't you come on over?) Valerie. (Valerie, Valerie.) Valerie. (Why don't you come on over?) Ah, Valerie, Valerie. (Why don't you come on over?) Valerie. Why don't you come over, Valeriiiiieeeeeeeee."

Everyone erupted into cheers. I was hugged, high fived, and told I was better than Lea Michelle- which I did not agree with.

The campfire went on happily. But when I fell asleep, I felt like the earth was stolen underneath my feet.

It was in my mom's old bedroom. My dream-self was watching me when I was seven, cleaning up crack wrappers as my mom slept.

My face was all scarred, and I trembled all the time.

I accidently stepped on a bottle of vodka and yelped. My mom was in a millisecond looming over me, her pale face looking angry. I was looking up at her, tears in my eyes, pleading for her not to touch me.

"MOM!" My dream-self screamed, but my voice didn't work. Then, my mom struck me-seven- across the face. I fell down onto my back and started sobbing.

"Never touch my things, you weak little- GET BACK HERE!" My mom ran after me, purple with rage, as I sprinted down to my bedroom.

My dream-self watched tearfully myself as a seven year old, helpless little girl slammed my door shut, locked it, and cried, holding my face.

Mom pounded on the door, screaming, "ARIADNE TALIEN REEDER! YOU BETTER OPEN THIS DOOR!"  
>"NO!" I screamed from the other side.<br>"EXCUSE ME?"  
>"I SAID NO!"<br>"YOU-"

Suddenly, I wasn't in that scene anymore. I was looking at me when I was eight in the middle of the night. I held a Dora backpack on my shoulder, and I was slipping out of my bedroom window. I knew that moment from heart. I was running away.

My dream-self looked at me from my old bed, biting my lip. I was soon out of the window, and running down the street and onto the highway towards Miami, Florida.

Suddenly, my eyes flashed open and I saw Percy, shaking my shoulders.

"Wh…?" I managed.  
>"You… were crying."<p>

I blushed all the way down to the middle of my throat. "Uh…" I noticed my face was wet.

"What were you dreaming about?" Percy asked as he reached over to turn on the lamp on the nightstand that held my floppy forest green ski cap that I had stolen from a Colorado ski resort.

My stomach felt like a hurricane was inside. "My… mom."  
>"What happened to her?"<br>"She… was someone with drug and alcohol issues. She was abusive." I had to clench my fists to keep myself from crying.

Percy sat up and walked back to his bunk. "I know I shouldn't have asked."  
>"It's fine. You were just wondering. It's really… never mind."<p>

I glanced at the nightstand to see that there was no clock. "What time is it?" I asked Percy.  
>He thought for a moment then answered, "Three."<br>"What time do we get up?"  
>"Six."<p>

I got up. "I'm gonna get in the shower."  
>"'Kay. Happy showering."<p>

At breakfast, I felt like I had lost my voice. I tried to speak, but it felt like my vocal chords had gotten surgically taken out.

Finally, Leo said hi and I replied, "Hey." He smiled at me and sat down to the table next to me; which had big burly kids that absolutely did not look like Leo at all, whatsoever.

Through the reflection of my goblet, I stared at myself; straight dark brown hair in a braid, light grey eyes, deep tan, pretty (to others. Not to me).

I let out a puff, which made a smear on the sparkling goblet. I seriously felt like I had gotten punched in the gut. That dream had made me feel all mixed up and lost.

Making me jump, Chiron told us to put up our dishes from breakfast and let the day begin.

First was cleaning horse stables, then firework making (I talked to Leo the whole time), canoeing (which I was pretty good at), archery (I was amazing at that), and then…

A girl who I had met during Capture the Flag (I whooped her meanie bootie) walked up to me, followed by muscled girls.

"Hello," I said casually, not feeling a bit scared of her.  
>"Hey, Bigshot." The girl snarled.<br>"Seriously? Is that the best you can think of? Bigshot?"

The girl ignored me and told her goony friends, "Grab her." As they paced up to me, my eyes widened and I said quickly, "Hey, hey, ladies! We can work this out! How about pegasus riding at three? Tea? Something?" They clearly did not like pegasus riding, nor tea.

Then, something happened that I can't explain. The ground rumbled, and the girls froze. The ground cracked open, and a geyser flew out and drenched the girls. I was just standing there, laughing at my accomplishment.

When the ground closed, the lead girl glared at me, her eyes glowing.

"Hey," I shrugged. "Don't mess with me. Or that will happen. Make that a mental note." The girl was exploding, screaming cuss words at me, and threatening to kill me. I really didn't care, because she wasn't scary at all.

All the campers were staring at me, mouths open.

"It was no biggie." I muttered under my breath, and kept walking towards the Hephaestus cabin, wanting to chat with Leo before sword fighting.

Chapter Two

"**Y**ou really can't do that." An Athena kid told me during free time when I was explaining a battle plan (with sarcasm!)

"Thank you, Lutienent Sarcasm." I said to him in exasperation.  
>"You're welcome." They said, not catching on to my sarcasm.<p>

"Wow," Leo said after swallowing a part of an apple. "For a son of the goddess of nerds, you ain't that smart."  
>The kid turned to him, insulted. "Rude. I'm leaving." He got up, and left.<p>

"Just saying." Leo grumbled.  
>"Actually," I got up and picked up my <em>Greek Mythology Stories and Index <em>book. "I have to agree with that squirt. That was pretty mean."

I walked off, leaving Leo saying, "I WAS JUST MAKING A POINT! I WAS KIDDING!"

I plopped down onto my bunk and opened my book to the story on the Amazons; who were these vicious women who chop off a part of their chest. I was just _dying _to meet them.

I was about to flip a page when Chiron walked in. I looked up at him.

"Do you know about privacy?" I snapped; mad about him just walking in as if he were Percy.

"I am sorry." Chiron apologized. "But this is an emergency."  
>"What?" I asked, alarmed.<br>"Your mother is at the Big House. She wants to speak to you."

I wanted to: A) Slam the door shut, lock it, and stay in my cabin forever  
>B) Tell my mom to leave the property that instant or else I would kill her<br>C) Kill myself.

All I said was, "_What_? How is she here? She must be dead by now! SHE IS THE MEANEST MOM EVER, AND YOU LET HER IN HERE?"  
>"I know you two have a rocky relationship-"<br>"ROCKY?" I screeched, wanting to punch someone's lights out. "MORE LIKE… HORRIFYING! WE HAVE NO RELATION!"

"She has changed, Ariadne." Chiron said softly. I glared at him, astonished and angry that he called me by my real name.

"I'm not going." I decided, turned away.  
>"Fine, she will come in here." Chiron challenged, and I heard him leave.<p>

"WAIT!" I screamed, regretting what I was about to say. Chiron turned to face me. "I'll go."

Waiting in the living room, drinking lemonade quietly was a curly, dark brown head.

"Ms. Reeder," Chiron said. The woman turned to look at me and I rarely recognized my mom. She didn't have that mad, sad look in her eye, wasn't deathly pale or super skinny. She was beautiful (shockingly), glowing with health, and had warm caramel eyes.

"Oh…" Mom set her drink down and walked up to me, who was urging to put my ski cap over my face.

"Ariadne- sorry, Talien- you're so… beautiful." Mom hugged me suddenly. I glanced down at her wrists and saw tattoos. One on her wrist had my full name, and on the other was "Stay Strong" in lovely cursive.

"Hey, Mom." I said coolly, faking the sympathy in my voice.  
>"You've grown so much." Mom said to me.<br>"Yeah, I know…?" My voice ended with a squeak.

Mom released, looking at me with teared up eyes. "I am so sorry about all of the things I did when you were little. You did the right choice by leaving to live with Aunt Marissa."  
>I just stared, feeling like I had lost my voice like I had two weeks ago during breakfast after that dream.<p>

Mom managed a weak smile. "I know it's awkward to see your mom after… eight years."  
>"Sure is." I said, my voice wavering.<p>

Mom looked at Chiron and smiled. "Chiron, it's been a while since I've seen you."  
>"You too." Chiron said happily.<p>

Mom turned back to my quizzed face.

"I just have to ask this." I finally said. "Um… how'd you get… you know… help?"  
>Mom took a deep breath. "I went to a center in L.A. for celebrities and stayed there for… what? Two years?"<br>I coughed. "Two years?"  
>"Yes, two years. Felt like three weeks, actually."<br>"Oh."

Chiron finally asked my mom, "Would you like Ariadne… Talien, I mean, to show you around?"  
>"That would be lovely." Mom turned to me. "Do you mind?"<br>"No." I lied. YES I MIND! MY MOM WHO I HAVEN'T SEEN IN EIGHT YEARS IS GOING AROUND CAMP WITH ME! AND LEO MIGHT PASS BY, TALK TO ME, AND MY MOM WILL CHAT WITH HIM! !

Me and Mom walked down to the sword arena first, and guess who was there? Percy, Piper, Jason and Leo! Just fantabulous.

"What's this?" Mom asked me quietly, staring at all the swords.  
>"Um… sword fighting." I answered.<br>"You guys use real swords?"  
>"No, we use plastic." I said sarcastically. "YES, THEY'RE REAL! THIS IS DEMIGODS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE!"<br>"Just asking." Mom said.  
>"Sorr-"<p>

Percy turned, saw me and Mom, and his smile faded. His eyes darted between me and my mom. "It's cool." I mouthed to him. He sighed in relief, and what made me want to punch him in the nose; walked over to me.

"Who's this?" Percy asked, pretending not to know what had just happened between us.  
>"Percy-" My voice came out as a sneer, but I fixed it. "Percy, this is my mom. Mom," I turned to her. "This is Percy, my half-brother." I coughed that last part out awkwardly.<p>

"Ah, hello, Percy." Mom smiled kindly. "It's nice to meet you."  
>"You too. Talien's mentioned you a lot."<p>

I really wanted to punch Percy in the Adam's apple then.

I glared angrily at him. He mouthed when my mom wasn't looking, "Had to make her happy!"  
>"You jerk!" I mouthed.<br>"Sorry."  
>I scowled.<p>

Then, Mom told me she had to go "make some business" and she would be right back. I smiled and watched her leave. When she was gone, I turned to Percy and punched him in the Adam's apple. He staggered backwards in shock and held his throat.

All of the campers in sword fighting were laughing .

"What was that for?" Percy asked, his voice hollow and scratchy.  
>"JERK!" I screamed, then stormed out, blood boiling for some reason.<p>

Mom was walking out of the bathrooms when I walked up. She noticed my anger and asked innocently, "What's the matter, swee-"  
>I was so mad, I just went off. "IT'S YOUR ENTIRE FAULT! YOU HADDDD TO COME! IT'S YOUR FAULT YOU WERE CRAZY! IT'S YOUR FAULT I LEFT! YOUR FAULT! AAAAALLLLL YOU!"<p>

I stormed back to my cabin, pushing anyone who wanted to talk to me out of my way.

I must've fallen asleep, because when I woke up, it was sunset. I was alone, covered in blankets. For a moment I forgot how I had gotten there, but then the memories of earlier came running back to me.

"Oh, crap." I muttered, then stood up on shaky feet. Immediately, a folded up piece of paper fell to the ground. I bent down to pick it up. I opened it up and scanned it. It was from my mom.

Talien- You're right. It was my entire fault. I was an addict, a crazy person- as you say. I treated you horribly. What a horrible mom I am. I know why you were mad at me and yelled. You were angry that I showed up. I shouldn't have come. I just wanted to see you. You were my main reason to get better. That's why I got those tattoos on my wrists. I will always remind myself of you- my inspiration. I just want you to know that I love you more than I did your dad, which is huge. I seriously hope you find a guy in your life that will treat you like a princess- and I think I have an idea of your guy. Anyway, I want him to make you laugh, tell you you're beautiful when you don't think so, make you feel wonderful about yourself, never treat you like a pile of poop, and make you happy. And of course, you two need to love each other like there's no tomorrow. But mostly the man does. Talien- I am sooooo sorry about the choices I've made. I promise I'll do better now.

Love,  
>Mom<p>

I had gigantic tears in my eyes. She had written that down? All of that?

I had to tell her I was sorry. I sprinted out of my cabin and to the Big House.

Inside, sitting in his wheelchair, listening to an iPod, was Chiron. Alone. Peaceful.

"Where's Mom?" I asked wildly.  
>Chiron turned to look at me. He pulled out his earphones. "She left."<br>"What? She left? Right when she got here?"  
>"Yes."<p>

I felt like Plato that had just got ripped apart. Mom had left. And it was all my fault. I shouldn't have been so mad. I wouldn't have ever done that to anyone because of some stupid reason. I think I was PMSing…

Chiron glanced at the clock and gasped. "It's time for the campfire! We need to go!"

He quickly was back in horse mode, and he threw me on his back and galloped to the amphitheater.

In there, all the campers were already singing along, snacking on S'mores.

I sat down next to Percy. He stared at me.

"I'm sorry about earlier." I told him.  
>"It's fine." His voice was still raspy and hollow.<br>"I really didn't mean to. I was just a little shocked."  
>"It's fine."<p>

Sing-a-long went on in its usual way; goofy, fun, and crazy.

Chapter Three

**I**t was three weeks after that incident had happened between me and Percy. His voice was back to normal, and we were acting like it had never happened, but I knew he was a tinsy bit mad at me still.

On the "Leo and Talien friendship" side of things, we were pretty much inseparable. We were hanging out with every moment we could get; free time, between activities, volleyball games, archery knockout, and Capture the flag. People thought we were dating, which kind of made me feel icky (BUT ONLY TWO PERCENT!) inside.

Leo was a pretty cool kid. He was funny, nice, and so far we had done twenty nine pranks, and had to help Mr. D back to the Big House when he got drunk (which has happened only… hmm… many times) for the rest of the summer. What fun.

I waited for the conch horn to blow at five forty five in the morning when I saw something small hidden in my pillow. I took it out and read,

Meet me at Tiffany's (New York City) at 6:10. Leo.

I felt my heart pound. Was this a … date?

I walked over to my cabinet full of clothes and picked out the best clothes I could find that weren't fancy.

Leo waited nervously at Tiffany's, holding two banana/strawberry smoothie and two chocolate chip bagels. Would Talien show up? Would she just prefer Fruit Loops and toast? Nah, probably not. This was Tiffany's!

"Thanks for the bagel, Leo." Talien said suddenly. Leo turned and his heart began to soar. Talien wore a pink "I heart NY" sweatshirt, white leggings, and black flats.

"Leo." Talien repeated, snapping under Leo's nose.  
>"Huh?" He jumped.<br>"Focus." She said.

Talien reached for a smoothie and bagel. She then slurped her smoothie.  
>"That's one good smoothie." She said, looking down at it. "Try it."<p>

Leo took a big gulp out of his drink. It was delicious.  
>"Agreed." He said.<br>"I told you." Talien smiled a smile that Leo loved to see. "I'm always right."

Leo snorted. "No! Remember that time-"  
>"YES!" Talien snapped. "Okay, not <em>all <em>the time, though. Maybe ninety-eight percent of the time." Her face was red.

Talien walked over to an empty table and sat down. Leo sat down too, trying not to smile for some reason.

Me and Leo ate our amazing bagels in about fifteen minutes, then I said, "I guess it's time to head back to camp, huh?"  
>"Nope." Leo answered, wrinkling up his wrapper for his bagel.<br>"But-"  
>"We're spending the day in New York."<p>

For a second I couldn't speak. First, it was Tiffany's, and what now? Broadway or going to Rockefeller Center?

"Wha-where are we going?" I asked him.  
>"Metropolitan Museum of Art." Leo replied, as if saying we were having sandwiches for lunch.<p>

I just looked at my smoothie, twirling the straw. I was seriously beginning to think this was a date. I have my reasons: #1-He bought me breakfast  
>#2-We were alone<p>

"'Kay…" I said. "Let's go see some old art that people from Greece and Rome made. I'm so pumped." I automatically regretted that last part. I didn't mean to say it flatly. I was actually excited to be going somewhere alone with Leo. Camp was never an alone place.

"That looks nothing like Dad." Leo muttered, looking up at a stone statue of a bodybuilder guy with a hammer in his hand, and wore a male chiton.

"Well," I sighed. "Maybe people change. Maybe your dad ate too many Ho-ho's at midnight."  
>Leo actually laughed, which made me feel on top of the world.<p>

"All right!" Our tour guide, Symone- a bronze haired, powder blue eyed, freckled, short, and pretty woman- announced. "Let's head to the Egyptian section.

"Let's go." Leo automatically whispered to me.  
>I looked at him. "Okay then."<p>

We walked down the sidewalk, cars honking and car gas in the air.

"This makes me mad." I told Leo.  
>"What?" He asked me, worried.<br>"No, not you. I'm talking about the pollution here."  
>"Oh."<p>

Suddenly, a familiar voice called from behind, "WAAAAIIIT!" Me and Leo turned around and saw Piper running up to us, a flash of worry in her eyes.

"Piper?" I asked. She caught up to us, breathing hard.

"Hey…" She looked up at me and Leo. "Well don't you two look nice."  
>"Thanks…?" I said. "What are you doing here, just wondering?"<br>"Oh." Piper's eyes filled with more worry. "Camp's under attack."

"So _who _exactly is attacking camp?" Leo asked Piper as we sat in the back seat of a taxi.  
>"Monsters. All kinds." She answered breathlessly. "Cyclops, the Echinda-"<br>"Isn't that a type of anteater?" I asked.  
>"Yeah- but this one is a woman that's a snake. Anyway, the Minotaur, <em>draceanae<em>, telekhines and a bunch more."

I just couldn't process it all. Camp-awesome camp-was under attack?

"And this is the scary part-" Piper glanced at the glass door that separated the driver from the passengers; it was closed. "The monsters say, 'Get Ariadne'."

Goose bumps ran all up my body, making me shiver. I was scared out of my wits. They wanted to get me? What did I have?

Leo's face was confused. "Who's Ariadne?"  
>"She's Theseus' ex-girlfriend. But now Mr. D's wife." Piper explained. "But why do they want her?"<br>"My real name's Ariadne." I admitted coldly. "They want me dead."

Leo and Piper looked at me, shocked. Leo was pale as a sheet.  
>"What?" He managed quietly.<br>"My full name's Ariadne Talien Reeder. I like to go by Talien, though." I repeated, more goose bumps raising all over me.

"Why do they want you dead?" Piper asked.  
>"That, I don't know. I mean- what do I have?"<br>"Well, you're a daughter of Poseidon. Poseidon's a powerful god."  
>"Then Percy would probably be dead by now."<br>"Maybe. Maybe not."

The ride went on in silence. I was way too shocked, confused and scared to speak any longer. And I was guessing Leo and Piper were too.

Finally, our taxi driver said that we were at Half-Blood Hill. Me, Leo and Piper walked out, Piper handed the driver the money, and in a flash, the taxi was zooming down the road fearfully.

"Well," My voice was small and I sounded scared-which I was. "Let's go…"  
>"I'm so excited I could pee myself right now." Leo said, his voice small, too.<br>"I agree about the 'peeing myself' part."

And we climbed up Half-Blood Hill. When we on the top, I looked down and collapsed.

Chapter Four

**L**eo had to catch me. I felt light-headed and totally embarrassed, but I just had to do that. Camp was horrifying. It was a total military base, but patches from fire marked the grass, trees were burnt, and everyone was scrambling around.

"You okay?" Leo asked.  
>"Mhm. Yeah, yeah." I answered, my tongue feeling bigger than usual.<p>

Percy raced up to us suddenly. He was surprisingly clean; no scratches, injuries, nothing.

"Chiron's calling a war council meeting. He wants Talien to come, too."

All of the counselors; Clarisse, Butch, Mary Lou, Miranda, Piper, Jason, Leo, Clovis, Annabeth, Leo, and a few others were surrounded around a long, blue…

"Why is a war meeting at a ping pong table?" I asked, mystified.  
>"I dunno. Ask Chiron." A kid named Travis from the Hermes cabin answered.<p>

"Let this meeting come to order." Chiron announced. He turned to Mary Lou. "Mary Lou- the honors." A bright pink spark shot into the air, but bounced off the wall and broke the ping pong table in half.

"Well, that was rather official." Leo said to me. I suppressed a smile. Leo smiled back at me.

"We all know that camp is under attack by monsters." Chiron began, looking at me from across the broken table. "And they have a strange order. None of us know why, but now- one person knows. Ariadne, shall you explain?"

I felt a shiver run down my spine, but I said, "Um… those monsters want me dead. My real name's Ariadne."

Everyone in the whole room looked devastated, even Clarisse.

"What? Why?" Connor, Travis' brother, whined. "You're _hot_!" Everyone busted up laughing, except me. I felt my face redden like crazy. I was hot? Uh- no. Not in my agenda. I wasn't even close to cute. No.

"Thank you, Connor, for that confession." Chiron said flatly.  
>"You're welcome." Connor said quietly, his face red also.<p>

"Anyway," Chiron began seriously again. "Leo, Percy, I ask you to protect Ariadne at all times. Do you promise on the River of Styx that you will protect her with your life?"

Leo paled. I slipped my hand into his helpfully, hoping no one would notice.

"Yeah, I mean, yes. I swear I will." Leo said, his voice small.  
>"I swear." Percy said, his voice confident. Thunder boomed from outside.<p>

"It is settled." Chiron said. "You two will stick with her in every batt-"

Suddenly, a _BBBBOOOOOMMMM! _came from outside and roars rang in my ears. I froze. Monsters were attacking.

"GO! GO!" Chiron yelled. All of the counselors ran out, grabbing weapons off of a table. Leo clipped a toolbelt around his waist.

I was still standing there, deciding what weapon to choose. A sword? A bow? A spear? What?

"This." Chiron handed me a charm bracelet. It was silver and had five charms; a seashell, a trident, a wave, a dolphin, and a sand dollar.

"What's this?" I asked him.  
>"A gift from your father."<p>

After saying ''Thank you.", I ran out onto the lawn and a trident was soon in my hand.

Leo and Percy were immediately by my side.  
>"Hey." Percy noticed the trident. "You just had to wait, Ariadne. I knew it."<br>"I knew it, too." I said, then Leo yelled, "MOVE!"

A green flame zoomed past me as I jumped out of the way and landed on my stomach.

"What the heck was that?" I asked.  
>"Greek fire. Gods, these monsters came prepared. Good job." Percy said, breathing hard.<p>

"Would you like to be on their side?" I snapped.  
>"NO!"<br>"Well then don't say 'Good job'! Gods."

A hiss came from my right and I turned to see a scaly, green skinned, tall, three legged woman that held a six foot long sword.

"You." They hissed.  
>"Hi! You're my first monster, so go easy on me." I said nervously, heart pounding.<br>"I don't think so." And the monster charged.

I ducked as they swung their sword, then my mind in auto-pilot, I stabbed them in the stomach, where part of their stomach was open.

"NOOOO!" The monster bellowed as they disenagrated.

"You were supposed to stay by me and Leo!" Percy yelled at me.  
>"Sorry, but I'm a rule breaker." I said, then smiled. Percy just scowled.<p>

"PERCY!" Leo suddenly shouted. I turned, and my heart shrunk. Leo was cornered by three monsters, and they were about to stab.

"Wait- never mind!" Leo burst into flames. The monsters disenagrated.

I gave him a thumbs up as he walked up to me, still in flames.  
>"Aw, shucks, I'm honored." He smiled, looking cute.<p>

We fought on, and when it felt like days, the monsters vanished. We all cheered in relief, and headed back to a surprisingly still perfect Big House to eat or hit the hay.

Me and Leo were laying on the couch, watching _Kung Fu Panda_ quietly. We were both exhausted, but I couldn't fall asleep.

"You did good." Leo suddenly said, then yawned. "Never knew you had that in you."  
>I felt myself blush. "You too, Human Torch."<p>

We watched the rest of the movie in silence, snuggled close, my head on his chest. Then, we both fell asleep.

In my dream, I was falling through a black hole. I screamed and flailed around like a fish, freaking out.

Then, a small light came from below. I started to fall faster, the wind whistling in my ears. I then landed on my stomach.

"That's what I call an appearance." A female voice said sweetly. I turned to see who was there. A woman that looked 22 with always changing eyes, hair, skin, height, and wore a pink sundress was sitting in a large velvet loveseat. Next to her was a guy who looked a lot like Percy except was older and had smile wrinkles, then next to him was a burly guy who looked exactly like Hagrid from "Harry Potter".

"Um… who are you?" I asked, my voice small.  
>The girl smiled. "I'm Aphrodite, this is Hephaestus," She pointed to the burly guy. "And this is Poseidon, your dad." She pointed to the Percy look-a-like.<p>

Before I could say anything else in shock, a body crashed next to me. It had curly black hair, tan….

"Leo?" I asked in confusion. The body sat up. Yep, it was Leo, bruised on his face, but still him.

"Hey. Well, this is a… Oh, gods." He saw the three gods. "This is a weird group."

"Hello." Hephaestus said to Leo awkwardly.  
>"Hey, Dad."<p>

"Why are we here with you gods?" I finally asked.  
>"We just wanted to chat with our kids, that's all." Aphrodite answered.<br>"Then why isn't Piper here?"  
>"Oh! We just wanted to have you two." She pointed to me and Leo. "Ah, you two will make a great couple."<p>

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" I yelled, alarmed. "COUPLE? Is that why you wanted to speak to us? Just so we could have a COUPLE CHAT?"  
>Leo laughed. "Couple Chat."<p>

"No, of course not! I just got sidetracked." Aphrodite said. "Is that what you _want _to talk about?"  
>"NO!" I screamed, my face red.<p>

"Please," Poseidon- Dad- interrupted. "If you want to argue about love please take it somewhere else. I would like to talk to my daughter, and I'm guessing Hephaestus would enjoy talking to his son. Right, Hephaestus?"  
>"Agreed." He answered.<p>

"There's a shocker…" Leo muttered under his breath. _Got that right, Leo. _I agreed in my mind.

Poseidon looked down at me, who was beginning to feel super nervous. "Hello, Ariadne. It's been awhile since I've seen you."  
>"It has?" I asked.<br>"Yes. Saw you when you were three."  
>I blushed.<p>

"Can we see that?" Aphrodite asked. "When this beautiful girl was three? I just love seeing it!" From a mirror, I saw a toddler with my same features, except not so slim than I was at the moment. I still had scratches, bruises and bumps.

"What's with the bruises?" Leo asked me.  
>"I was clumsy." I lied.<p>

"Oh, don't lie!" Aphrodite chided me. "Her mom was abusive." I glared up at her, really wanted to punch that blonde's lights out.

Leo looked at me. I had to look away.  
>"What?" He asked.<br>"She's right." I raised my left sweatshirt sleeve and revealed a long, bruised scratch.  
>"Oh, gods, I might barf." Leo turned away.<p>

"Thanks for the sympathy." I said sarcastically, then looked at Aphrodite. "You like seeing me all scraped up?"  
>"NO! You're so cute then! And still are now! You're the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen!" I blushed all the way down to my toes. Second time that day I was called pretty. Woo-hoo.<p>

"Anyway," Poseidon cut in sternly. "Ariadne, we have gathered you two- Leo and you- to tell you that you're going to be the greatest heroes Olympus has ever seen! Especially you, Ariadne."  
>"And how exactly?" I asked.<br>"Every god gave you a power when you were born."

That took me awhile to process. I-a sixteen year old that had ran away at age eight, stole things, was _the greatest hero that Olympus had ever seen_? That was like a serious punch in the heart.

"Oh, gods." I mumbled, feeling weak.  
>"Yeah, I've had that talk already." Leo said. "It's still a little shocking."<p>

"Nice going, Poseidon! You made her sick! You can't make a hero sick!" Aphrodite scolded.  
>"I just had to tell her! She needed to know!" He snapped.<p>

Suddenly, something pulled my hair, and my eyes flashed open. I saw some woman that looked like a homeless tribe member with a psycho look in her eyes pulling my head back. I knew immediately who she was. An Amazon.

Chapter Five- Part One

**M**y heart pumped as I screamed. She pulled at my hair harder.

She wore a dusty, tan, ragged dress, and I noticed part of her chest was missing. Her hair was a jet black, and all crazy (which matched her personality). Her eyes were a deep, dark, crazy, evil brown.

"OW! OW! OW!" I tried to release the Amazon's hold, but she just pulled harder. She then she told another Amazon something and pointed to an awakening Leo.

"NO! BIG NO-NO!" I screamed in fear. No way would they hurt Leo. Not in my book.

The other Amazon dragged Leo off the couch by his hair. He woke up, looked around, and he burst into flames. The Amazon released her hold on his hair and ran off.

"Get this psycho off me! I would like my hair!" I screamed at Leo.  
>"All right, all right! I'm-"<p>

I suddenly bursted into flames. I screamed in horror. I didn't know I could do that!

"How'd you do that?" Leo asked in horror.  
>"I do- OH! Remember my dad saying that the gods- OW!- gave me one of their powers? This's probably one that I got!" I explained after the Amazon disenagrated from being on fire.<br>"Oh. Cool."

I looked around and saw all of the campers getting attacked.  
>"Let's do this." I told Leo with a smile.<br>"Yep."

Together, we charged.

Let me just say, we had Amazon for breakfast after that.

"Nice job." Chiron told me as he wrapped an Ace bandage around his wrist for his fractured wrist.  
>"Thanks." Me and Leo said at the same time.<p>

After breakfast, it was more fighting. There were pretty much only a hundred monsters left- which was awesome.

Suddenly, I got tackled from my left. I landed on my back onto the grass and cried out as I felt something slice at my stomach.

"TALIEN!" Leo screamed.

"That's better." A male voice snarled. I managed to look up and see a mossy brown haired, dirt brown eyed, Native American, tall, and pretty cute guy looming over me, a long, deep black sword in his hand.

"Who are you?" I mumbled as black polka dots danced across my blurry vision. A piercing pain shot through my body, like I had gotten electrocuted ten times.

"The question is: _What _am I?" Then, the guy's body started to swirl like a hurricane.  
>"Dylan?" Leo yelled.<br>"Ah, hello, Valdez! It's nice to see you. Still stupid as always." The guy yelled with glee.

Anger washed over me. Oh, no one talks to Leo like that. _No one. _

Then, I felt stronger, and my cut disappear. Dylan's eyes widened.  
>"YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!" He screamed.<p>

I stood up, and tackled him with a battle cry. I managed to connect, and I raised my trident.  
>"NO! NO! NOOOO!" Dylan screeched.<p>

With a piercing, hair raising scream, I brought down my trident. Then, I can't remember what the heck happened. I just remember tumbling in the air, crashing, a bright golden light, then I blacked out.

Part Two of Chapter Five

I woke up back in my cabin, my head hurting like crazy. My body felt like smashed grapes, and my tongue felt too big for my mouth.

"Oh, gods…" I moaned in pain.  
>"Well, the zombie finally awakens." A familiar voice laughed.<p>

I looked up and saw Percy next to my bed.  
>"What happened?" I asked him.<br>Percy grinned. "Oh, that was so cool. You stabbed that storm spirit, and then you, like, radiated and a huge golden light spread across the lawn- which was blinding- and then, all the monsters were gone! You're a hero." I just groaned and sat up.

"So, the monsters are gone?" I asked, feeling a bit stronger.  
>"Yeah. Everything's back to normal. Well, some dryads died, and some campers did, too."<p>

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked.  
>"A week." Percy answered.<br>I coughed. "A _week_?"  
>"Yeah."<p>

The door of Cabin Three opened, and Annabeth's head popped in. "It's time for lunch, Percy." She saw me. "Oh, hey, Ariadne."  
>"Hi, Annabeth."<p>

Percy turned to me. "You hungry?"  
>On cue, my tummy growled. "Yeah, but I seriously need a shower."<br>"'Kay. See you."

I brushed my hair after blow drying it, and put it in a braid.

"Anyone home?" A voice asked as they knocked on the door. I glanced at the door, and saw Leo.

I automatically grinned. "What's up?"  
>"Oh, the ceiling." Leo sighed and walked into the bathroom doorway.<br>"No, the light!" I corrected him.  
>"Thank you."<p>

Leo's smile kind of started to twitch. "Um… I was wondering…"  
>"What kind of blow dryer I use?" I said teasingly.<br>"No. Um… Ifyouwantedtogoouttonight?"

My heart started to do jumping jacks. Did he just ask me out?

I just smiled. "I'd love to."  
>"Um… 'kay. Uh- six. Central Park." Leo turned to walk out. Then, he turned back. "Well, see you."<br>"See ya."

When the door shut, I ran to my pillow and screamed into it happily.

I knocked on the Aphrodite cabin door nervously. What would one of them say if I asked for help to get ready for a "date"?

Then, a girl that looked eighteen with sandy blonde hair, powder blue eyes, a super deep tan, was pretty, and was putting on some blush opened the door. Darcy Kingston; daughter of Aphrodite.

"Oh, hi, Talien! What brings you here?" She asked.  
>I held up my bag full of clothes. "I need help to get ready for a date."<br>Darcy's eyes lit up. "You came to the right girl! C'mon in!"

Darcy sat me down in front of a hot pink mirror filled up with cosmetics.  
>"Oh my gods, Darcy. How do you afford all this?" I asked.<br>"Oh, ask that later. Let's get started. Oh, this'll be great!"

Leo waited on a bridge in Central Park nervously in an orange button up, khaki shorts, and cleaned sneakers.

"Well, someone's clean." A voice said from in front of him. Leo looked over and his jaw almost disconnected off his face. Talien (Ariadne, whatever. Leo liked Talien way better) wore a knee length, white, short sleeved, dress that had pearls stitched in, white flats, and a white daisy was behind her hair. Her whole body… glowed.

"Um… hi." Leo managed.  
>"Hey." Talien smiled a cute smile.<br>"Uh- I guess we should go." Leo held up his arm for Talien to take. She slipped her arm into his.

Me and Leo walked into PF Chang's, laughing. In front of us was a podium, and standing behind it was a girl that looked about 34 with auburn hair in a sloppy bun, emerald eyes, a black polo that said "PF Chang's" in small red writing above a breast pocket, and jeans.

"Welcome to PF Chang's." She said, sounding bored to death.  
>"Table for two." Leo said calmly.<br>"All right." The girl walked us to a table in the back.

"Your waiter will be here in a second." She mumbled, then walked off.

When she was gone, Leo said to me, "She looked like she wanted to kill herself."  
>"No duh." I replied. "She probably had to get the job. 'Cause she spent too many nights drinking."<br>Leo laughed.

"What would you like to drink?" A guy with sandy blonde hair, deep brown eyes, was muscular, and looked like he was actually having fun asked.  
>"Dr. Pepper, please." I answered.<br>"Dr. Pepper, too." Leo said.  
>"Okay. Your drinks will be here in a jiffy." The waiter walked off.<p>

After our drinks came, Leo asked me, "What else did your mom do to make you run away?"  
>I automatically felt like I might barf up my Dr. Pepper. "She… did drugs… got drunk a lot. She didn't go to rehab until I left."<p>

"Where'd you go?" Leo asked  
>"My Aunt Marissa's. She lives in Las Angeles. She's a make-up artist for celebrities." I explained flatly, then sipped at my drink.<br>"Oh. Well, I've ran away six times, so you don't have to feel too uncomfortable."  
>"Why?"<br>"Foster homes… y'know, the usual."  
>"Did your… oh yeah, you already told me." My voice faded, then I said, "I'll be right back."<p>

I walked off onto the bathroom.

Inside, a familiar head of chocolate brown hair was wiping her eyes.

"Piper?" I asked. The head turned to see Piper, her eyes red.

"Why are you crying?" I asked her.  
>Piper looked anxiously at all the stalls. The doors were all wide open, no one in them. She managed, "You and Leo are having a great time, when me and Jason aren't even speaking to each other! You guys are having a better date than me and Jason…"<p>

"Whoa, this is _not _a date between me and Leo!" I explained.  
>"Then why are you both dressed up, huh? Why are you two alone? Why are you two at a fancy restaurant?" Piper snapped, then broke down again.<p>

While I patted her back and told it would be okay, I wondered, _Is this really a date? We _are_ both dressed up, _and _alone, _and_ at a fancy restaurant… _

Piper looked up at me, sniffling. "This is pretty embarrassing." She said, then laughed tonelessly.  
>"No, no, it's fine to cry. You've got your reasons." I told her softly.<p>

"You know, Leo's lucky to have a friend like you." Piper said.  
>"I'm your friend, too, Piper. And you're one of my best friends ever. I never had any friends back in LA."<p>

Piper finally wiped her eyes to make it look like she hadn't been crying, and blew her nose.

"You know what you and Jason could talk about?" I told Piper.  
>"What?" She croaked.<br>"About… what movies you want to see, or… something funny that happened during an activity. That's a start."  
>"Bye." Piper walked out, but before leaving, she told me, "Thanks, Talien."<br>"Welcome."

Before leaving PF Chang's, I glanced back and I saw Piper and Jason laughing and holding hands. I smiled. I should seriously think about becoming a relationships counselor… I'll think about it.

The moonlight shone onto the small creek below a bridge at Central Park. Me and Leo ate our Snow Cones while talking.

"I wonder what happened to that lady from the front of PF Chang's." Leo wondered aloud.  
>"Probably went clubbing after she got her pay check!" I laughed and took a huge chunk out of my cherry Snow Cone.<br>"Yeah, probably did. Hook up with a 'grenade'." Leo cracked up, along with me.

"Ah, that was a good one." I wiped tears from my eyes.  
>"Sure was." Leo looked at me, his eyes sparkling. I felt my heart pump straight through my dress. Gods, he looked so cute.<p>

Leo suddenly swiped away a strand of hair away from my eyes delicately, as if I were a piece of glass. I blushed, then said, "I'm not fragile." I glanced at the cups for the Snow Cones on the ledge of the bridge.  
>"Well, I just can't help it. You seem like you're fragile sometimes." Leo said softly.<br>"I guess I'm just nervous." I smiled.  
>"Do I make you nervous?"<br>I blushed even more when I nodded. Leo blushed too.

Suddenly, music from a band started to play. Leo took my hand, and he asked, "Care to dance?"  
>Blushing even more, I nodded. He pulled me close, and slowly, we swayed back and forth.<p>

I wanted to freeze myself in time, stay in that moment forever.

Chapter Six

**T**he next day, we were having a beach-side party for some Aphrodite kid's birthday.

I locked the Cabin Three door after Percy left to go see Annabeth, and walked to my stereo on my nightstand. I turned it on and "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking" by Blake Shelton played quietly.

I walked into the bathroom, taking my socks off. I seriously needed to calm down. I had felt like I had broken a billion bones when I had woken up.

I sunk into my bubble bath all the way down to my nose peacefully. The hot water automatically calmed down my nerves, the bubbles made me sleepy.

_My, oh, my, you're so good looking, but who are you when I'm not looking? _

My eyes closed.

"TTTTAAAALLLLIIIIEEEENNN!" Percy's angry voice made my eyes flash open. I blinked and looked around for a moment, remembering where I was.

Wildly, I wrapped a towel around my cold body and unlocked the door. On the porch, Percy was fuming.  
>"Why'd you lock me out?" He yelled.<br>"Um…" I blinked. "I… Okay, I just woke up, so don't ask me questions."  
>"Well, WAKE UP!" Percy stormed in.<p>

"Jeez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today…" I mumbled as I watched Percy grab his swim trunks and slam the bathroom door closed.

"I can't believe you!" Percy yelled from the bathroom.  
>"Sorry. I thought you would be gone until the party." I explained.<br>"Well, I'll let it slide." Percy's voice sounded calm then, which made me sigh with relief.

I glanced at the clock and almost screamed. It was ten minutes till the party started. And I planned to be "fashionably late".

Percy left three seconds (literately) later, and I grabbed my swim suit and changed while grabbing my shoes.

I walked to the beach, confident, but when I saw the _whole camp _next to the lake, I slowly began to walk backwards, my legs wanting to break any second.

Percy saw me and yelled, "Hey, Talien!"  
>I cursed under my breath as I put on a fake smile. "Hey!"<p>

I sat next to him, looking around at all of the guys looking at me. I noticed their expressions. Did I seriously look that great? All I was in was an orange, polka-dotted strapless bikini.

"You look great." Annabeth said to me suddenly.  
>I turned around to look at her. "What? Oh, thanks. You too."<p>

Annabeth was in a dark purple bikini that made her look like a freaking supermodel.

Leo slid into the bench next to me and said, "Um… hi."  
>"Hey." I blushed like crazy, trying hard not to look at Leo's six pack.<p>

"You okay? You look like you're trying not to barf." He noticed.  
>"Yeah." I took a deep breath. "I'm fine. I just… don't like all the guys looking at me."<br>"Because you look amazing, that's why."  
>I shot him a look. "Thanks for making me feel better."<br>"Oh, you're welcome."

On the stereos, "One and Only" by Adele started playing. I tried hard not to blush. I started to feel like my feelings barrier was crumbling, because every time I looked at Leo, I could just picture myself looking fragile, like he said the night before.

"CAKE TIME!" Chiron suddenly announced. Everyone bolted.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jonas, happy birthday to you!" Jonas, a Brazilian fourteen year old guy blew out his blue candles, and then Connor Stoll smashed Jonas' face into the cake. Everyone started bursting out laughing when Jonas flung some cake down Connor's shirt.

After Chiron separated them, he handed out the remaining of the strawberry cake, along with a golden fork that sparkled in the sun.

I was about to sit back down, when I felt someone's hand slip into mine. Startled, I looked up, and Leo told me, "Come on." Blushing, I let him walk me down the beach and to a big rock cliff that wrapped around part of the beach.

I glanced behind me shoulder and saw everyone watching Connor and Jonas having a cake-war again, flinging pink cake through the air.

Leo laughed, and turned to see him watching too.  
>"Those dorks." I said.<br>"I agree," Leo agreed.

Then, we took a turn and a large cave was wide open. It was… perfect. The damp walls, the way the sun shone inside…

"You have good taste." I looked at Leo with a smudge smile.  
>He looked at me, his eyes having that mischievous glint in them. "Why, a-thank-you."<br>"You're very welcome."

We sat there, eating cake (That wasn't too bad, actually), laughing our heads off when Chiron totally went off on Connor and Jonas.

"Oh my gods!" I almost dropped my empty plate because I was laughing so hard. "That was HILARIOUS!" Me and Leo kept laughing.

I finally took a deep, shaky breath. My stomach had horrible cramps from laughing, and my throat hurt. Leo took one too.

"That's a side I'd kill for." Leo said.  
>"Oh yeah. That would be amazing to see Mr. D be like that." I added.<p>

We kind of had an awkward silence, but Leo finally said, "We… um… should take the plates back."  
>"Yeah." I agreed.<p>

Me and Leo walked back, once in a while stopping and watching a dolphin pop out of the water.

When I set my plate down, Jonas walked up to me, covered in cake.  
>"Hey, Jonas." I smiled-just to be nice.<br>"Hi." He said, his deep brown eyes glowing. "I was wondering if you'd like to sing a song for my birthday."

I secretly started to get excited. I was happy that out of all the campers Jonas had chosen me to sing for his birthday.

"Sure." I answered. "What song?"  
>"'If I Die Young' by the Band Perry." Jonas said with a pip in his voice.<p>

Now I was _super-duper _excited. The Band Perry was pretty much my favorite band of all time. Shew, forget Taylor Swift, the Band Perry was way better than her (In my opinion).

"Great. Um, so, when will I be singing this?" I asked.  
>"In ten minutes." Jonas answered.<br>"Oh."  
>"Yeah. Well, if I were you, I'd change out of the bathing suit."<p>

I sprinted back to my cabin, dodging people wildly.

Inside Cabin Three, I ripped open my drawer and grabbed a blouse and shorts. I examined the blouse; purple. Good enough. The shorts weren't that bad either.

I glanced at Jonas nervously. He just waved for me to go on. Hastily, totally regretting it, I walked onto the stage. I honestly don't know why they put a stage near the beach, but oh well. Everyone noticed and looked up at me, excited.

"Hey, guys." Jonas said from backstage. "I would just like to thank y'all for coming to the party. Now, you all know Talien, and I asked her earlier if she'd sing a song for me as a favor. Hope y'all like it."

I closed my eyes, thinking the song through. _If I die young, bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses… _

The beginning of the music made me come back to reality.

Jonas felt like he was going to break any second. He knew he had made the right choice by picking Talien to sing for his birthday. She was the best singer at camp. In the whole population of Long Island.

"If I die young, bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn; send me away with the words of a love song. Uh-oh, uh-oh."

Yep, Jonas made the right choice.

"Lord, make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother. She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh, and, life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no. Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby. The sharp knife of a short life. Well, I've had just enough time."

Everyone was clapping. Jonas was getting more and more glad he chose Talien.

"If I die young, bury me in satin, lay me down in a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn; send me away with the words of a love song. The sharp knife of a short life, well I've had just enough time. And I'll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom. I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger. I've never known the lovin' of a man, but it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand. There's a boy here town, says he'll love me forever. Who would've thought forever could be severed by the sharp knife of a short life. Well, I've had just enough time."

Jonas' arms rose with goose bumps. Jeez, that note was high.

Talien looked peaceful, going on and on with that note. It was the most beautiful thing Jonas had ever heard.

Suddenly, Talien, microphone in hand, walked over to Jonas, took his hand (Which made Jonas blush) and brought him out on stage. When everyone saw him, the clapping got louder. Whoops and hollers came from the crowd.

"So put on your best boys, and I'll wear my pearls; what I never did is done. A penny for my thoughts, oh- no, I'll sell them for a dollar. They're worth so much more after I'm a goner. And maybe you'll hear the words I've been singin'. Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'…"

Jonas couldn't help but blush even more. Gods, Talien was beautiful. And with her hand in his, it was the best birthday present ever.

"If I die young, bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn; send me away with the words of a love song. Uh-oh. The ballad of a dove. Go with peace and love. Gather up your tears, put 'em in your pocket, save them for a time you're really gonna need them. Oh, the sharp knife for a short life. Well, I've had just enough time. So put on your best boys, and I'll wear my pearls."

Everyone clapped like crazy. Talien ruffled Jonas' dark black hair, set the microphone down and walked off the stage. Jonas was like, "Um, um, gah."

Chapter Seven

**O**ne day a week after that, I woke up to see every camper in my cabin, holding "Happy Birthday" balloons.

Then, I remembered it was July first, my birthday.

"Oh my gods." I muttered, then pictured my hair. I ducked under my blanket, my face totally red.

"You're hair looks great, Talien." Leo said in exasperation. "Now get out of there before this icing melts."  
>"Liar." I grumbled as I came out.<br>"Oh, I don't lie."  
>"To me."<br>"I pinky swear."  
>"Fine."<p>

Then, all the campers screamed "Happy Birthday", making my ears ring.

Darcy, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Jason and Leo handed me a chocolate (The best type of cake) cake with (my favorite color) yellow icing.

"Now," I hollered. "Get outta here so I can eat my cake!" Everyone sprinted out. Then, I saw Leo hadn't left.

"I'll smash the cake in your face." I warned.  
>"Hey, I made that cake." Leo pointed out. "So I should get a taste of it."<br>"Only a little."

"Jeez," Leo said teasingly as he sat next to me on my bed. "Someone's protective of their cake."  
>"Sorry." I blushed.<p>

"You blush too much." Leo noticed as he took a huge part of the cake with his fingers.  
>"If you were me right now, you'd know why."<br>Leo arched an eyebrow. I automatically regretted it. Well, it was over. He knew. Just wait for the reaction.

_GODS, THANK YOU! _I thought in joy, because Leo just kept on eating the cake.

Suddenly, I accidentally dropped a huge piece of the cake on the floor. I screamed a cuss word that would have my aunt slap me across the face.

Talien's hand slapped over mouth, her face grew so red, and it looked like a Flamin' Hot Cheeto. Leo tried hard not to laugh. Then, he looked at her and he thought, _She looks so cute. _

"Oops." Talien said in a small voice. "I didn't mean to say that!"  
>"It's okay. I cuss sometimes too." Leo said softly.<br>Talien looked down shamefully.

"It's fine!" Leo reassured her, and then a laugh exploded from his mouth. Talien looked up and whined, "Don't laugh at me!"  
>"Sorry!" Leo just kept laughing. "I'm trying not to!"<br>"Stop it!" Talien whined, looking so embarrassed.  
>"I'm trying!"<br>"No you're not!"  
>"Yes I am!"<p>

Talien just looked like a Flamin' Hot Cheeto with brown icing on top. Leo just kept laughing, thinking over and over how cute Talien looked.

I still felt horrible during weapon making. I didn't mean to cuss! Leo kept teasing me about it, until I whacked him with a piece of bronze.

"OW!" He screamed, clutching his forehead.  
>"Don't tease me." I warned, but my face was still red.<br>"Jeez, you have an arm."  
>"Yep, I know."<p>

Leo let go of his head, but a scratch was on his forehead. "Can you get me a Band-Aid?" He asked.  
>"Yeah." I reached into my pocket and brought out a…<p>

"Sorry, but you're getting a 'My Little Ponies' Band-Aid." I told him as I swiped his curly hair out of the way. Leo looked up, a hint of a five year old in his expression.

"You want me to kiss your boo-boo?" I said in a baby tone.  
>"Oh, shut up." Leo said, blushing.<p>

"THAT'S SO CUTE!" Darcy finally squealed, watching me. I looked over and saw her looking all mushed up.  
>"Hey, shush it, pageant queen." I snapped my face even more red.<br>"Oh, you know you love it." Darcy continued to make a sloppy shield.

I looked back at Leo. He was blushing, too like crazy. I slapped the Band-Aid on his head.  
>"Uh- ga- thanks." Leo managed.<br>"Welcome." I said, then walked out after the conch horn blew, meaning it was time to switch activities.

I pictured Leo watching me go, smiling that cute smile and the 'My Little Ponies' Band-Aid on his head.

It was during the campfire two days later when the world was set right.

I was walking out of the amphitheater when Leo came up to me.  
>"Hi." I smiled, feeling myself already beginning to blush.<br>"Hey." Leo had his smile twitch again, and I knew he was going to say something serious.

"So, I'm guessing you have something important to say to me." I noticed, grinning.  
>"Yeah." Leo cleared his throat.<br>"What is it?"

Leo looked so darn cute then; his eyes filled with sympathy, his expression gentle, his hands deeply hidden in his jeans pockets…

"I was wondering if you'd like to go with the fireworks with me." Leo asked, looking up at me gently.

Shock wrapped around me. Did he ask that? But, I felt a warm embrace around my heart.

"Yes." I answered. Leo eyes went wide.  
>"Yes?" He repeated.<br>"Yeah, I'd love to." I smiled.

"TALIEN!" Percy called. I turned, mouthed, "Wait!" then turned back to Leo.  
>"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I said.<br>"Yeah. Uh… good night."  
>"Good night."<br>"Lo-" Leo stopped himself.

I just couldn't face him after that as I walked off, beaming.

Leo sat in Cabin Nine, looking at his blanket. He was so happy Talien had said yes. Yeah- they had been friends since May, yeah they had those "boyfriend/girlfriend" moments, yeah they had their close moments, but they were best friends still. Leo couldn't just say, "I love you." at any random time. He had to remember that he and Talien were still friends.

"I heard you and Talien are going to the fireworks together." Jake, one of the Hephaestus kids, said to Leo.  
>Leo looked up at Jake. "Yeah." He answered, smiling.<br>"I'm guessing you like her, based on your expression."  
>Leo couldn't help but blush. He nodded.<p>

Jake just laughed. "She's actually really pretty. I know why you like her."  
>"Her smile, laugh, her embarrassed face…" Leo kept blabbering on and on about Talien.<p>

Jake glanced over at the bathroom door and saw Nyssa waving for him to brush his teeth. He got up, and on the way there, he told Leo, "Well, I may not know about love up close, but all I know is that Aphrodite has really slapped you across the face this time."

Leo just sighed, laid his head down on his pillow and fell asleep, dreaming of fireworks popping in the sky, whispering, "Tell her!"

I was in the middle of putting my shorts into a washer when Chiron galloped in, looking frantically for someone. When his eyes fixed on me, he called for me to follow him to the Big House.

As we walked back, I asked, confusion swirling in my stomach, "So what's the matter?"  
>Chiron looked pained, so I was guessing it wasn't good. My skin crawled.<p>

Finally, he answered, "It's a family matter for you." He sounded drained.  
>My heart pumped. Oh no. I knew it wasn't going to be good.<p>

Inside the Big House on a huge plasma TV flashed, "MYSTERIOUS MURDER OF MARISSA REEDER AND ANNA REEDER IN LAS ANGELES."

Then, a woman began, "Earlier this morning at the outskirts of Las Angeles, sisters Marissa and Anna Reeder were walking down the road-no reason confirmed-when someone kidnapped them and stabbed them to death in the back of their SUV…"

My heart felt like it was coated with ice. Mom… Aunt Marissa… they were dead? Murdered? Who could do that?

I looked up at Chiron, trying not to cry. He tried to pat my shoulder, but a wave of anger rolled over me and I screamed, "WHO COULD DO THIS TO ME? THEY WERE THE ONLY FAMILY I HAD!" Hot tears rolled down my cheeks, and my legs wanted to break.

"I-" Chiron began.  
>"It was one of the Olympians, wasn't it?" I screamed. "You know it was!"<br>"Now, Ariadne, we just can't-"  
>"OFCOURSE WE CAN!" I didn't know how I could've assumed it, even after that.<p>

"Are you disrespecting the gods?" Chiron asked, shocked.  
>"YES! I KNOW SOME GODS WANT ME DEAD! I'M DANGEROUS!"<br>"I know you are, but no god-"

I couldn't take it anymore. Before Chiron could stop me, I sprinted out, crying.

Every camper glared as I ran by like a brown and orange flash.

I ran into my cabin, slammed the door shut, leaned against it and sobbed. How could anyone even think about just kidnapping some siblings and murdering them?

After I hiccupped for the first time, Leo asked from outside, "Talien, you okay?"  
>"Go away." I hiccupped.<br>"Now, Talien, I want to see if you're okay." Leo's voice was gentle.

I let out a cry, and started to cry all over again.

"Talien," Leo said softly. "Let me in."  
>I didn't say anything.<p>

After almost kicking myself, I shakily stood up and opened the door. Leo stood there, looking so gentle.

He walked in quietly, and I shut the door.

"What happened?" Leo asked.  
>I just plopped onto my bed, tears running down my cheeks like crazy.<p>

Finally, I croaked, "Mom… Aunt Marissa's… dead." More tears raised into my eyes.

Leo walked over to me. More tears, and the wave of goose bumps that mean that you're about to cry rolled over me.

I yanked him close and sobbed, my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. I pulled him even closer and cried even harder.

"It's okay." Leo whispered soothingly. "It's okay."  
>"No it isn't." I croaked.<br>"Yes it _will. _I know it isn't now, but it will be soon."

I started crying, mumbling, "They're gone."  
>"You'll see them." Leo reassured me.<p>

Then, he whispered, "I won't let go."

Chapter Eight

**A**fter drying my eyes, Leo told me we had to go. I swallowed hard, hiccupping.

"Come on. We have to go." Leo told me.  
>"People will ask." I insisted.<br>"No they won't."  
>"You sure?"<p>

Leo just looked at me.  
>"I'm positive." He reassured me.<p>

I huffed, which made Leo grin, and I walked outside.

It was during archery when all my anger and sadness poured out. The way I pulled back the arrow was stiff and when it implants into the wall made me feel much better.

The conch horn blew, and I smiled to myself. Next was dinner, then after that were… fireworks.

I sprinted towards Darcy, then stopped. I didn't need her help every time I was indecisive on what to wear. That's just stupid.

So, feeling confident in myself, I walked back to the Poseidon Cabin.

After closing the door, I opened my drawer and stared at my clothes, my mind suddenly blank. What to wear? Not too dressy, not too plain… UGH! That was hard.

Finally, after debating with myself, I chose a white smocked floaty cami, a striped paper bag skirt, and white havaianas. Yeah, I got them all from American eagle.

Right when Percy walked in, I turned and asked, "Is this too much?" I held the clothes up, worried.

Percy just stared at the clothes.  
>"No. That's how all the girls dress at the fireworks." He said, then added, "And the guys go pretty classy, too."<p>

I sighed in relief. Not too much!

Then, still a little nervous, I asked, "Um, since you're a guy and all… should I leave my hair down?  
>Percy nodded.<br>"Should I wear a necklace?"  
>A nod.<br>"Is that too much?"  
>He shook his head like he wasn't listening.<br>"Are you even listening?" I clenched my teeth.

I walked up to him, grabbed the collar of his shirt and growled, "If you didn't, well you better listen to this Perseus Jackson, if I mess up, I will hang you by your boxers on the Empire State Building and let you dangle there." Percy's eyes were wide with horror.  
>"Do I make myself clear?" I growled.<br>Percy nodded quickly.

I let him go, then asked, "Now, is a necklace and my hair down too much?"  
>"No." Percy answered, sounding true this time. "It's perfect. You'll look great."<br>"Much better." I said with satisfaction and locked myself in the bathroom to get ready.

As I changed, my thoughts wandered around. What would the fireworks be like? Would they be just regular fireworks, or ones that had movement? Would Leo think I was hoping for something to happen, which I wasn't? What _would _happen, anyway? Just a regular good-night, thanks for coming and walk off? Or…

I shook my head. I was turning paranoid. That wouldn't happen at all, what I was about to think. I would just have to go with the flow.

"Hey, Talien!" Percy called from outside. "Lemme see what you look like! I'll inspect."

Smiling, I glanced at my reflection on the mirror quickly. Yep, I looked fine. I opened the door and Percy actually caught his breath. I blushed.

"Oh, wow." Percy whispered in awe.  
>"Is it good?" I asked.<br>Percy broke into a grin. "Good? You're a _knockout_!"

A little small fire of hope flared inside of me. That was great! I was a knockout!

I glanced over at the alarm clock and smiled. It was time for fireworks.

Quickly, I reached for my necklace that had a picture of my mom inside and put it on.

Percy's eyes followed my every movement. I looked up and asked stupidly, "What?"  
>He blinked then answered, "Nothing."<p>

Percy was thinking he just saw Aphrodite inside a body of a sixteen year old girl as he walked to the beach for fireworks. Jeez, Talien looked amazing. But of course, Annabeth always looked way better.

_But Talien had eyes like pools of the winter ocean, and her hair looked like dark chocolate- Whoa, what the heck am I _thinking? Percy chided himself.

That was his sister! He had a microscopic crush on his sister? NO! That's sick.

Percy saw Annabeth and thought, _You look way better than little sis, Wise Girl. _

I looked for Cabin Nine quickly. Leo's cabin…

Finally, I saw a cabin that had a serious steampunk theme going on, and I knew that was the Hephaestus cabin, no doubt.

I walked to the steps of Cabin Nine and knocked on the metal door that hurt my fingers.

When the door opened, my heart bursted from a swelling of joy. Leo wore a plain white tee, nice jeans, and white Vans.

I had to blink to keep myself from tackling him with a hug.

Leo's eyes filled with some feeling I couldn't figure out, which made me rub my foot against my leg (Which I do when I'm mad). Usually I could tell what he was feeling, and that moment when I couldn't identify it made me mad.

"Uh- hi." Leo smiled.  
>"Hi." I blushed.<br>"So, you ready?" Leo looked at the big crowd of campers that were making their way to the beach.  
>"Yeah."<p>

Leo stepped onto the steps and put his arm around my shoulder, which made me look away to smile. Together, we walked towards the beach.

"You missed dinner." Leo told me, looking down at me.  
>"Oh, well." I shrugged. "I'm not that hungry anyway."<p>

Right then, my stomach growled. Leo raised an eyebrow.  
>"Okay, fine." I admitted. "I'm <em>kinda <em>hungry."  
>"That growl sounded like you're starving."<br>"I'm not."  
>"Liar."<br>I sighed in exasperation. "I don't lie."

"Sure you don't…" Leo muttered, and I shot him a dirty look. He laughed.

Me and Leo spread out a small picnic blanket across the sand near the water and laid back. The starry sky looked like a blanket rolling above us, and the stars looked like large polka dots.

Making me jump, a firework popped into the sky. I sat up in amazement as Hercules ran across the sky, a sword in hand. Then, Zeus came along, throwing lightning bolts. And then it was Apollo riding in a chariot.

"That's so cool!" I gaped.

Next was an owl flying across the sky to represent Athena, then a big heart exploded into the sky as I laid back. Then it was Dad with a trident.

Suddenly, it started pouring with rain. All the campers yelped and scooped up their blankets then bolted for their cabins.

The rain had already soaked me, even though I should've been perfectly dry (Thanks to my awesome water powers).

I glanced down at my shirt and cursed. I had totally forgotten that my shirt was thin.

I looked up at Leo and demanded, "Don't look at my shirt."  
>"I'm not." He was trying not to grin.<p>

I just rolled my eyes and got up, followed by Leo. I was about to walk back to my cabin when Leo took my hand and walked me farther down the beach in the rain.

"What the heck are you doing?" I asked over the beat of the rain.  
>"Finding somewhere dry!" Leo yelled.<br>"THE CABINS!" I screamed.  
>"This will take a…"<p>

Leo's voice faltered. He must've known what I was about to ask, because he pointed to something that made me tense up. A abandoned red Ford pickup truck hidden in the cliffs.

"There." He said.  
>I shot him a look. "Are you <em>kidding<em>? That's a pickup truck! It might not even be unlocked!" I shrieked.  
>"We'll just have to try."<p>

Leo walked over to it, dragging me along, who was beginning to get nervous. Oh, gods. Out of all places, a freaking pickup truck?

I tugged at the doors. They flew open, making me fall. Leo caught me.

"Thanks." I mumbled.  
>"Anytime." Leo mumbled back.<p>

The truck smelled new, and it looked new, too. Inside was just two leather seats, an old style radio, and it seemed kind of… small.

I followed Leo as he climbed in, blushing and really nervous.

I suddenly noticed Leo had a sly, mischievous smile on his face. That made me even _more _nervous. The small truck+Leo+Me+Alone=Something not good. Or maybe something good…

I was in the passenger seat, and I saw that there were no lock controls or window one either. Plus I saw that the windows were blackened. And a sunshade on the front window.

I swallowed hard.  
>"Um… so," I fiddled with my fingers nervously, then finally gathered up my courage to look up.<p>

I felt a shoulder on mine. I noticed that me and Leo were _really, really, really _close. Like, shoulder and hip close.

Leo was smiling like crazy now.

"Seriously," I said to him. "Why are you smiling like that?"  
>Leo shrugged and looked at me, which made us a centimeter to being nose to nose.<p>

I started to blush like crazy.

Suddenly, I heard a click and I looked wildly at the door. The door was locked. So, I was alone. In a car that was locked. With Leo. Oh, gods.

I turned back to Leo, my smile nervous.  
>"Why'd you lock the doors?" I asked.<br>"Didn't want anyone to interrupt." Leo answered quietly.  
>"Interrupt what?"<br>"Us alone."  
>I blushed.<p>

"Are you nervous?" Leo asked me, the smell of mint making me weak. "Are you nervous about being so close, are you nervous about us alone, and are you nervous about what might happen next?"  
>I wanted to lie, but the answer yes tumbled out of my mouth.<br>"Thought so."

I turned away, blushing, then turned on the radio. Guess what was on? 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' by Lady Antebellum. Just a great song that fitted the situation.

I found myself quietly singing along. "So lay here beside me, just hold me and don't let go. This feelin' I'm feelin' is something I've never known. And I just can't take my eyes off you…"

I turned back to Leo. He was watching me closely. I blinked. He looked down at my hands. They were small and nimble.

"Gods, my hands a-"  
>Leo all of the sudden did something that made me blink about five times.<p>

He kissed me. Hard, and passionately. I was actually… enjoying it. So, I kissed him back.

Then, it kind of started to get a little 'Glee' like. I leaned against the car door, practically almost laying down, as we went on and on. Leo's hands were going through my hair, and I was feeling a tiny bit of pleasure.

As the rain pounded on the blackened windows, I fell in love.

Chapter Eight

**I **was in the middle of Greek mythology, sitting on a ledge at the Big House, waiting while Chiron was helping a camper with something on Hercules, when a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. I automatically smiled.

"How's Greek mythology?" Leo whispered in my ear.  
>"Just great." I replied, then hopped down the ledge and walked down the steps.<p>

Leo was grinning from my response.  
>"Well, that's just great." He said.<br>I punched him in the arm playfully. "Oh, shut up."

Leo just rolled his eyes and leaned against the porch ledge, smiling at me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his chest.

I could just _feel _everyone's eyes on us. No one knew that me and Leo were (Shhh!) dating, and they were about to find out.

"You look so cute right now." Leo said to me quietly, almost a whisper.  
>I grinned.<p>

When we kissed, I heard one person gasp. I smiled. Oh, how some people react cracks me up.

I glanced behind me when we released and saw almost everyone staring, mouths dropped open. I laughed really loudly.

Finally, some Aphrodite girls broke into cheers.

I looked back at Leo, he was laughing his butt off. And we both started cracking up.

It seemed that in a flash it was the last day of the summer term.

I was watching campers walk down the hill and back to the mortal world. I would be a year-rounder (Along with Leo) and be going to school at Goode High, thanks to Percy.

Leo slid into the seat next to me on the porch of the Poseidon cabin.  
>"Hey." He said.<br>"Hey." I smiled.

"You excited for school?" Leo asked suddenly.  
>I shot him a look. "No. School sucks."<br>Leo grinned. "Thought so."

And as we sat there, laughing and holding hands, the sun drowned into the hills at Camp Half-Blood.


End file.
